maya civilization accomplishments

Running Head : Maya Civilization Accomplishments

Maya Civilization Accomplishments

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I . Introduction

The Maya Indians are people living in Mexico , Guatemala , Belize Honduras , and El Salvador , whose highly developed civilization reached its peak in the seventh and eighth centuries . At that time , the Maya population may have been 12 to 16 million people . The Mayas reverted to a primitive state of existence after their civilization was destroyed by Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century

The Mayas form a large part of the peasant population of the Mexican states of

Yucatan , Campeche , Tobasco , Chiapas , and Quintana Roo Guatemala and Belize . Mayas are short , sturdy build and have broad faces and prominent noses . There are about 30 Mayan languages . The Mayan language of the Yucatan peninsula is Yucatec , or Maya proper . Other Mayan languages , found mainly in the highlands (at the base of the peninsula , include Quiche , Cakchikel , Mam , Kekchi , and Pokomam . An isolated Mayan-speaking group , the Huastec , lives in northeastern Mexico around Tampico (Coe , 1999

Moreover , the Maya is an American Indian people of Middle America . In the strict meaning of the word , the term Maya refers to the indigenous inhabitants of the Yacatan Peninsula and to their native language . The term takes on different and wider connotations when used to refer to the ancient Maya civilization , to the Maya cultural area , or to the Maya (or Maya-Quiche ) linguistic stock

Furthermore , Maya life was controlled by religion , which was concerned with the passage of time and was based on astronomy . Each day was ruled by several gods , who determined whether events would be favorable or unfavorable . Priests made the necessary astronomical calculations for showing what gods were ruling at any given time . The priests also directed the building of temples and monuments (Gallenkamp , 2006 Ritual bloodletting and human sacrifice were common religious practices

This intent to (1 ) know the history and civilization of Maya (2 ) be familiar with its daily life and (3 ) know the work of the Maya and their accomplishments

II . Discussion

A . History

Ancient Period

Area - the area of interest in dealing with the pre-Hispanic Maya civilization comprises the following regions : the whole territory of presently Guatemala and British Honduras , western Honduras , El Salvador and in Mexico , the eastern parts of Chiapas and Tabasco , the states of Campache and Yucatan and the Territory of Quintana Roo . This geographical area coincides generally with the area of Maya speech at the time of discovery by Europeans

Two exceptions are nevertheless of importance . Although the Huaxtec (Huastec ) speak the language which belongs to the Maya linguistic , they remain outside the pre-Hispanic Maya era . Archaeologists have proved that the Huaxtec separated from the linguistic relatives at early date (perhaps 1000 B .C , or even before , and that Huaxtec culture differs markedly from the other Maya cultures . In contrast , we must include in the Maya area the Pipil , who at the time of the conquest occupied the Pacific coast of Guatemala and El Salvador southeast to the Lempa River The Pipil...